


Words We Left Unsaid

by RoamingRoveon



Category: Splatoon
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Relationship Development, and gentle, rated just in case, this is meant to be cute and fun
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-23
Updated: 2020-04-14
Packaged: 2021-02-28 22:00:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,382
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23284423
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RoamingRoveon/pseuds/RoamingRoveon
Summary: Somewhere between the first steps into Inkopolis, saving the Great Zapfish, and the Deepsea Metro, there was a budding romance building up to blossom. These are the moments unseen, the little things that brought two inklings together and held them there through frustrations and miscommunications.These are the words they didn't say.[Branch-off of Love Language and Translation Error.]
Relationships: Agent 3/Marie (Splatoon), Marina/Pearl (Splatoon)
Comments: 7
Kudos: 28





	1. Seeing Stars

**Author's Note:**

> So I've been debating working on this for awhile, but I really think it's time. Here's a bunch of little oneshots that didn't quite fit into Love Language, but slot in there over time, just glimpses into Marie and Jinx's life! 
> 
> I don't have a set update schedule for this one, but I hope the doses of cute and gentle will make up for the absolute train wreck that is Translation Error right now. 
> 
> Enjoy, squidkids!

The first time Jinx saw the Squid Sisters performing, she was completely smitten. How could she not be? She wasn’t the biggest music buff, but all of their songs were brimming with energy and for a 15 year old stuck in a small town, they were her connection to what was fresh in the big city.

The _second_ she turned 16, she was on the train to Inkopolis. She only took one wrong turn in the disorienting bustle of the city before finding her way to the Plaza, where turf war was surging in popularity and inklings from all over congregated. Teenage rebellion, fresh fashions, all of it was so exciting and a little overwhelming. 

What really got her was the fact that she could see the news studio where the Squid Sisters did their broadcasts from. She could climb a set of stairs and be right in front of it, just a pane of glass between her and the idols she’d been watching on a screen for the last year. The prospect made her want to superjump to the platform immediately, but it also kind of made her anxious. Really anxious. 

Naturally, she avoided the news studio and started with the creepy old guy in the sewer instead.

Okay, so he wasn’t creepy - Jinx started working with Cap’n Cuttlefish regularly, jumping at the chance to splat some bad guys and keep Inkopolis safe from the Octarian menace. She was back and forth from Octo Valley every day at first, making good on her promise as Agent 3 of the New Squidbeak Splatoon, rescuing juvenile zapfish and searching for the big one. 

In between, she even stopped and worked up the nerve to press her face against the glass of the news studio while Callie and Marie were taking a break. As they did with so many inklings before her, the idols spotted her and offered her smiles and small waves. It felt kind of like a rite of passage.

When her commanding officer was compromised underground, she started getting radio transmissions from her predecessors. Agent 1 and Agent 2 were equal parts inspiring and frustrating to work with at first, trying to give her advice that seemed so obvious to them but to her it was all too new. Still, their quips and banter kept her light on her feet, kept a smile on her face on the rough days.

Jinx took a break at the top of the stairs one afternoon, perched on the railing overlooking the plaza with a small box of spongy strawberry cakes in her lap. She nibbled on her snack in quiet consideration, admiring the city she’d already grown so attached to. Pride bubbled up inside of her when she thought about the fact that she (and her fellow agents of course) was the only thing standing between this gorgeous view, and a hostile takeover. 

It made her feel good. It made her feel confident. Confident enough that, when she’d had her fill of cakes, she swung her legs back over to the landing and greeted the Squid Sisters through that familiar pane of glass with a big smile and an enthusiastic wave.

...Was it her imagination, or did Callie and Marie look happier to see her than normal? 

No, she had to have been dreaming. Especially when her eyes met Marie’s and she could swear, there was a spark of recognition there. The corner of her mouth catching in something of a knowing smile, and the tiniest nod of acknowledgement thrown Jinx’s way while Callie leaned on the table and wiggled a few fingers at her in greeting. 

Hallucination or not, in that moment, Jinx couldn’t help but feel like something had changed. Something _was actively_ changing. 

She was anxious and excited to find out what.


	2. Make It Alright

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You'll find I'm living right when your hand's living in mine -   
> Oh, you can make it all alright.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I should have mentioned this one doesn't have a specific update schedule.
> 
> Fluff is necessary in these trying times. I hope I can make you smile. <3

The latte she ordered was absolutely disgusting. 

It wouldn’t have been an issue any other morning. At least, that’s what Marie told herself - but today, she was in desperate need of caffeine. Why had she let Callie talk her into an all-night Pokemon marathon, she  _ knew  _ she had to get up early and she knew it was going to be a miserable time. She trusted her coffee to pick her back up in the aftermath of the bad decision, and here it was, about as frustrating as wet socks and twice as disappointing - like dirt, bitter dirt, with a terrible ashy aftertaste.

Callie was as perky as ever, all bright smiles and chatter the entire train ride to the studio, and as much as Marie loved her cousin it was grating and unfair that she got all the ‘early bird’ genes. She tried to tune most of it out, knowing Callie well enough to nod or grimace where appropriate and instead scrolling through her social media. 

All in all, that was her next big mistake. For the most part she brushed off the comments section of ReelTube videos - she knew better, she really did, but since she’d started down the rabbit hole of Bad Decisions it was only natural that she would tempt fate and dip into a string of rude and unnecessary comments. Users complaining about how ‘you maire stans are all so shitty to callie :(‘ and ‘Callie should just go solo!! She’s way more fun and fresh!’ 

None of it was new and she and Callie liked to laugh about it on the good days, especially the recurring fan of Callie’s that liked to post the same thing on every video. But for crying out loud, she wasn’t  _ that bad,  _ was she? She was honest, she didn’t mince words, and she was never rude to her fans. Brow furrowed, Marie took a spiteful sip of her horrible latte. 

The instant they got to the studio, they were being rushed. The manager had apparently come in late and made up for it by pressuring the Squid Sisters, being snippy with the both of them as they tried to settle in and read up on the first stages of the day. Marie huffed but did as she was told without complaint, despite the acid that burned at the back of her tongue. She let Callie do most of the talking, probably the best course of action.

For the endlessly growing pile of garbage that the morning doled out, the afternoon dragged on far longer than it needed to. Marie tried ordering lunch, hoping that food would help to appease her irritation, but naturally that couldn’t go right either. They screwed up her order and there was no time to correct it, so much like the bitter coffee - which sat growing cold on the studio table - she ate it anyway. Food was food, after all, even if it wasn’t what she wanted. 

Why was it so hard to get what she  _ wanted _ ?! 

With so little within her control, she took advantage of what she had some say over and texted Jinx a couple of hours before the end of the day. Having company when she was already in a bad mood may have been a recipe for disaster but damn it, she was going to do  _ something  _ that would go right no matter what it took. They planned to meet back at Callie and Marie’s apartment, Jinx agreed to bring dinner and the worst possible horror movie she could get her hands on, and Marie let her cousin in on the evening’s plans.

Lo and behold, Callie had something else to do! Because of course she did. That was fine. Marie clenched her jaw and assured her that it was alright, they would catch up later, and she didn’t ask who the hell else Callie had to hang out with because that was rude. She grabbed for her script off the desk and knocked over her disappointing coffee in the process, spilling the ice cold sludge across every paper and in part onto her dress. 

So she went home early, alone, and in a bit of a huff. 

Marie tried to use the half hour or so between getting home and Jinx’s arrival to take some deep breaths and find her chill. She got changed out of the coffee-stained dress into a favored old pair of sweatpants and a garishly yellow t-shirt - the “standard issue” shirt given to every inkling in honor of their move to Inkopolis. She hated that thing, it clashed horribly with her natural ink colors, but she was too frustrated to care and it was comfortable. 

By the time she’d paced the imprint of a circle into her bedroom carpet, the front door opened - Jinx was kicking her shoes off when Marie poked her head out to investigate. The younger agent slipped a backpack from her shoulders, a bright smile on her face when she spotted Marie coming out from the bedroom. 

“Hey! Sorry I’m late, I brought stuff for dinner and I got…” She bent over to dig through her bag. “The Shellendorf Splatling Massacre, Thankskrilling, and Octonado. I thought that was a good start, are you hungry now? I can start now--”

The excited rambling was far less annoying than Marie expected it to be, thank goodness. She offered a weak smile, gesturing toward the kitchen and moving forward to kiss Jinx’s cheek. “Whenever is fine.” Then, an afterthought: “...you’re  _ making  _ dinner?”

A slight purple dusted the other girl’s cheeks, still easily flustered by the tiniest show of affection, and she nodded. “Yeah! Is that cool?” 

Honestly, Marie had been expecting take-out, so it was a nice surprise. Maybe the day was finally salvageable. “That’s fine. Kitchen’s all yours.”

While Jinx got started on that, Marie lounged on the couch and browsed through Squidder...again. She didn’t really read the posts she scrolled past, unfocused and resigned. Bad days happened. They started slow and rolled into something much bigger, all piling up one thing right onto the next. Tomorrow was a new day and she never had to do this one ever again. The thought should have been comforting enough to cheer her up, but when she got into a foul mood it was usually best to just let it run its course.

Jinx was making her dinner and then they could curl up on the couch and watch terrible horror movies, and that was going to be the highlight of her day. That was fine, she told herself. The life of a pop star wasn’t always glamorous, but it definitely felt nice to be taken care of by someone else. A pretty cute someone else, who had shown her selflessness time and time again since she joined the NSS, and over the last few months she was enjoying getting to know better.

Marie wondered if her friend could tell she was in a bad mood.

Before she knew it there was a hot meal ready, a fairly simple recipe but something that Jinx mentioned making often for her siblings, and the poorly-acted screams of smalltime actors filled the apartment along with the occasional snort of laughter from Jinx. Marie remained more tense than she’d have liked, poised like she was just waiting for the next thing to go wrong. What was it going to be, she wondered? Was she going to spill something else on her, and the couch? Was the TV going to explode? The possibilities were really endless.

“Hey Marie,” Jinx broke her train of thought. 

Marie hummed in response, holding back a small sigh as she turned to face the girl.

Confusion furrowed her brow when Jinx pressed a finger to the side of her nose, closing one nostril, and started to whistle through the other one. It shifted into mild concern, until she - she recognized the tune.

“Is-- is that the  _ Spongebob theme song _ ?” She dared to ask as the realization dawned on her.

With a big, self-satisfied grin on her face and one nostril still closed, Jinx nodded. “Sure is!”

For all of her terrible mood and the awful day she’d had, Marie was amazed to find the bubble of laughter picking its way up the back of her throat. She stifled it at first, pressing a few fingers to her mouth in an attempt to keep it back. A soft snort. A smile. A giggle, and then it all broke down into peals of uncontrollable laughter at how ridiculous it all was. That nose whistling, of all things, could bring a ray of sunshine down from the grey storm clouds that had followed her around all day.

Who was this inkling and where did she come from? 

Still trying to catch her breath moments later, she was pleased to see that Jinx was laughing right along with her. To see how quickly things had gone from gloomy to warm and comfortable. 

“When,” Marie asked when she had calmed down, “did you discover  _ that  _ skill?”

Jinx had already set her plate aside and scooted closer, just enjoying sitting next to the idol. “I had to entertain kids a lot growing up, so it came in handy. I thought you could use some cheering up!” Then, a little sheepishly - “Callie texted me. She said you had a rough day.”

Of course she had. Leave it to Callie, making sure someone else could make Marie smile in her place. Reaching up and brushing back Jinx’s fringe a bit, she propped her elbow up on the arm of the couch and shifted so she could stretch her legs out across her companion’s lap. 

“Thank you,” she said, sincerely. “For sharing your impeccable talent.” 

It was the last thing she’d expected, but it certainly wasn’t the worst way to end the day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes you just have to hone your terrible talents to make your girlfriend laugh.


	3. Weathering the Storm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oh my love, you found me at the right time.  
> My heart is yours - I hope that you'll be kind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *ahem*
> 
> Did you want some fluff???? Some fluff? Is that what you wanted--
> 
> Because I did, I really did. I need it like breathing. Here's some fluff before I rip hearts out again next week with Translation Error.
> 
> The song is The Great Northwest by Mighty Oaks.

_ Weathering the Storm _

Agent 3 isn't afraid of many things. She's faced down tyrannical Octarian leaders with the courage of a lion, wrangled several toddlers at a time - one of whom climbed every available high place as a hobby - and looked her crush dead in the eye and kissed her. After just a few months in Inkopolis, anyone who knows Jinx (re: the Squid Sisters) has become familiar with her particular brand of bravery in the face of adversity. 

This is important information for the NSS to have. They know that they can rely on her, no matter what.

On an entirely separate and yet related note - a majority of the time, the weather in Inkopolis is perfectly reasonable. The sun is almost always shining, but it's never unbearably warm - in the winter, it only gets cold enough to snow. Inklings enjoy something temperate, clear skies, all four seasons in equal parts, and it very rarely rains.

When the sky opens up on one rare cloudy day and the rain comes down in sheets, Marie comes home and catches her girlfriend - a title very recently acquired - with russet eyes fixed to the window pane. Staring like she expects something, just watching the rain splash against the glass. The idol shrugs it off as nothing. A lot of inklings like to watch the changes in the weather, herself included. 

There's something soothing about listening to the drum of rain, how when it's the heaviest they can hear it like a hollow echo against the roof of the complex. Callie and Marie's apartment is on the top floor, a curse some days after long shows, but in moments like this she can truly appreciate it. 

"It's really coming down out there," Marie comments, shaking the excess droplets from her umbrella before closing it up and setting it beside the door. She kicks off her shoes and wanders toward the bathroom, undoing her tentacles as she goes. "I'm going to get changed and make some tea, do you want any?"

Jinx, who's sat cross-legged on the living room floor, takes a moment to respond. Almost as though she's just registering the combination of sounds associated with Marie coming home - closed door, shoes off, familiar voice - all at once. She turns her gaze toward the sound, craning her neck to see over the back of the couch. Her girlfriend is already in the bedroom. 

"Yeah, that sounds good!" She agrees, her cheeks flushing when she catches a glimpse of a sequined dress lifting away from pale skin. Quickly, she looks back toward the window and takes a deep breath to calm her racing hearts. "H-how was your day?" 

Marie shrugs as she hangs the dress up in her closet, going for a vintage grey sweatshirt and a fresh pair of leggings instead. She peels the gloves from her fingers, smooths her drying tentacles over her shoulder. "Nothing unusual. Oh - Gramps called. He wants to know when you'll be able to run recon?" 

There's something so simple and domestic about conversation from room to room, just distant enough to echo in the small apartment but close enough to feel personal. It's a strange sensation that Jinx truly enjoys, no matter how much of a sap that makes her. Ever since she met Marie, it's been a constant series of learning new things about herself as well - including this. Jinx smiles at the simple thought.

"Definitely not today," she says, earning a soft laugh in response. "I'll probably be able to get down there this week though! Can't let the good ol' Captain down." 

Soft footsteps from the bedroom out to the living room, and soon Marie is there in all of her casual (yet still beautiful, so beautiful) glory. Jinx doesn't waste time getting to her feet, catching her in a chaste little kiss that she leans down to meet halfway. Something gentle to say hello. The sweet smile it gets her makes her insides turn to mush. 

"You look good," Jinx blurts out, sucking her lower lip beneath her teeth and trying to remember how to put words together with those warm golden eyes watching her. "Your hair, I mean. Your whole face looks. Good. But."

Marie hums softly, leans back in and kisses her girlfriend's forehead. "Thank you." Graciously, she steps away and heads for the kitchen. "Jasmine tea?"

Relieved of the need to perform with her lacking vocabulary and all the ways she doesn't know how to express all of the ways Marie leaves her breathless, she exhales and flops back onto the couch. She's been in pajama pants and a tank top since she got home, already comfortable and ready for the evening. 

"Yes, please!" 

They go through the motions. The kettle goes on the burner, comfortable silence settling in aside from the soft scrape of mugs on the counter and spoons against porcelain. Whistling when the hot water's ready, cabinets opening and closing, a routine orchestra that plays along with the sound of the rain on the window. It's almost enough to lull Jinx to sleep, but there’s a thrumming beneath her skin preventing that, and she's still sitting up and watching through the pane. 

Waiting for something.

It's not long before they're perched together on the couch. Marie unfolds a book she's been picking her way through between shifts - she leans back against one arm of the sofa with her knees pulled up, resting the cover against her thighs. Jinx gets comfortable on the opposite side, slouched down further, toes overlapping with her girlfriend's with her face lit up by her phone screen. It's quiet, it's cozy, it's safe from the rain outside.

Distantly, there comes a roll of thunder. It's soft, barely a rumble, something like the warning growl of a wild animal. Marie registers the sound and tucks it away, unbothered - since it rains so seldom, she's not entirely surprised that it's becoming a storm. They're overdue, anyway, and the folks over at the Kelp Dome will be happy to have the help with their gardens.

What she does notice is that Jinx's toes twitch. She pauses on her page, tipping her head a little and peeking over her knees at the girl sharing the couch with her. 

The LCD light still shines in her face, but she isn't paying attention to it. Her eyes are glued to the window again, wide and expectant, her brows knitted together just the slightest bit. The hand not gripping her phone is frozen mid-reach, like she was about to go for her tea.

Marie wants to call her name, wonders if she should - Jinx looks like she's deep in concentration. It stretches out for a moment or two before the smaller girl slowly begins to relax again, nestle back into the couch like she's satisfied, missing the brief flash of lightning against the darkened sky outside. Distantly, Marie hears the wind pick up, the rain joining in and doubling its efforts to drown the city. 

It's another minute, maybe two, before the next round.

**_CRicccck KA-DUUUM… FUMFUM!!_ **

The lightning is almost in tandem with the loud crack of thunder overhead, and with the threateningly bright flash, the lights abruptly go out. Marie isn't surprised by that - their apartment is comfortable but the wiring needs replacing, and the infrequency of storms just makes it that much more prone to losing power during them. 

What catches her off-guard is the panicked gurgle that escapes from her girlfriend's throat, the scrambling sound of nails on the couch, and her book being shoved promptly off of her lap. The very sudden addition of extra weight on her chest, the gentle headbutt as Jinx tries quite desperately to tuck her head up beneath Marie's chin. Fingers curl into the fabric of her sweatshirt and there's a knee in her stomach - the older inkling automatically rests a hand at her girlfriend's lower back, a bit winded from the shift.

"Jinx, what--" 

She thinks better of the question when she's convinced she can hear Jinx's hearts racing in the thick silence settling in around them. It's almost in time with the rain drumming against the window, her breathing fast and panicked against the idol's neck. Marie takes a deep breath of her own, piecing together the situation, resting her other hand on Jinx's arm. She stares up at the ceiling through the darkness. 

"...you okay?" She asks after a moment, careful and quiet. The tug at her sweatshirt is a pretty good answer.

Jinx swallows past the panic in her throat, wide eyes dilated with panic. She can feel herself trembling and while any other time she might find this embarrassing, all she can think is to be as close to Marie as possible. 

"'M fine." It's an abrupt response, barely a squeak, obviously a lie. 

Marie doesn't think she's ever known anyone that's afraid of thunderstorms before. Sometimes Callie jumps at the first crack of thunder, but she always laughs it off and plasters her face to the window like a kid, ready to sit on the sill and watch the entire show. It's one of the few times she's noticed something that Jinx and Callie clearly don't agree on.

"Do you want me to go get some candles...?" Marie tries again, brushing her thumb in circles against Jinx's arm. Smoothing her palm across the tense expanse of her back. 

There's nothing for a beat or two, then a rigid nod that almost knocks against her chin again. 

It's really quite a spectacle, hunting down the aforementioned candles. Especially when Jinx doesn't want to be by herself, even for a moment, and they determine that Marie can carry her if she's in her squid form. So, Marie hunts through cabinets and drawers with a bright purple squid all-but superglued to her, tentacles wrapped around her forearms for dear life. 

All the while, the idol finds herself singing. Soft renditions of songs she's known her whole career, with a few mixed in by her favorite bands. Never whole things, just little bits and pieces here and there. She frees up one hand when she finally finds her prizes, crooning the gentle notes through the whole process - physically aware of how Jinx's trembling slowly subsides with each word, how her tense form relaxes inch by inch. 

Even as the thunder roars overhead, each crack bringing a new squirm and sound of protest with it, Marie is able to calm her again with, "Shh, it's alright" and a slightly more intimate, "I'm here."

Candles set up across the coffee table in the living room, Marie settles back down and Jinx slowly unwinds her tentacles from her girlfriend's arm, shakily giving way from squid back to a more stable inkling form as she puts herself right back where she was before. Curled up against Marie's chest, tucked up into her neck. 

Instead of letting Jinx get a death grip on her shirt though, Marie slips her fingers between darker skinned digits and squeezes a bit. Jinx hears the message loud and clear, more than when it was spoken aloud just moments before:  _ I'm here _ .

She settles as best as she can, ear pressed against Marie's collar, listening to the much steadier rhythm of her hearts compared to the stuttering in her chest. The only sound for a while is her partner's singing, melodious and just as beautiful as the rest of her, a warm hand stroking slowly across her back. 

"...sorry," Jinx says at last, voice cracking in the ever-present vestiges of her anxiety. She tries to swallow again, to dampen her throat. 

Marie doesn't make her wait. "It's fine," she promises, no trace of annoyance in her tone - or worse, disappointment. Nothing but sincerity. The kind of assurance Jinx needs. 

"You won't tell anyone...?"

As soon as Jinx says it, she knows it's a silly thing to worry about. She isn't afraid of much, nothing that she's had to face in the past few months at least, and didn't it just figure that the first thunderstorm since she showed up had to happen with the most beautiful girl in Inkopolis sitting in the same room as her? 

The small laugh it gets her isn't condescending in the least. "Hmm. The mighty Agent 3, scourge of Octarian society, is afraid of thunderstorms...sounds like a tabloid headline." 

That makes Jinx laugh. 

"No, I won't tell anyone," Marie promises. 

Another rumble of thunder, softer this time. The flash following it brightens the apartment like the briefest strobe and Jinx takes a deep breath, focusing on the gentle beat of Marie's hearts. 

The storm will pass, she tells herself. Storms always pass. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hilariously, I came up with this while playing Mario Kart??? I have no idea what my brain is doing anymore. 
> 
> Let me know thoughts and feelings~ See you on Sunday for Translation Error!


End file.
